Occupy Wall Street protest reflects the growing anger and frustration of middle class Americans
Occupy Wall Street protesters march to join a union rally at Foley Square in New York earlier this month. The protests have gathered momentum and gained participants in recent days as news of mass arrests and a coordinated media campaign by the protestors have given rise to similar demonstrations around the country.
AP Photo | Seth Wenig
OWS is mirroring that classic 1976 movie, "Network": "We're mad as hell and we are not going to take it any more."
The OWS movement began small less than a month ago and may emulate Mao's famous saying, "Even the smallest spark can create a raging forest fire."
Tom Watkins
There seems to be a sense that America is losing its ethical moorings -- the values that once caused fellow citizens to help one another. Has social trust has been shattered?
This should come as no surprise to anyone as much of the economic moorings that working and middle class people have striven for their entire lives has been pulled out from under them.
New research focuses on the pain that working Americans feel and are now demonstrating about -- household income declined more in the two years after the recession officially ended than it did during the recession itself. The author of the study called the decline "a significant reduction in the American standard of living."
Once a concerted mass of people believes the system is not working for them, then societal change begins to boil. The political talking heads are dismissing the anger expressed by the OWS demonstrators as being a bunch of malcontents, or socialist, anti-establishment types - a movement that will dissipate in due course.
Wrong.
People across the American spectrum are angry and have a right to be so. Most have played by the rules, saved for a home, worked hard, put money away in a 401(k) only to see it washed away.
There is a palpable feeling that Wall Street got the gold mine and the middle and working classes got the shaft.
Middle America is angry because the dreams they built are delayed at best or vanished at worst and the youth of today see their futures mortgaged to the hilt.
Young people looking to begin the climb up the American Dream ladder can't even reach the first rung. The number of college grads serving lattes at local coffee houses is frightening.
Those without an education and skills are without hope or opportunity in a changed world where ideas and jobs move around the globe effortlessly.
Jobs, incomes, savings, home equity and hope -- all have been vanishing.
If the political elite had been paying attention, they would have noticed the American anger Richter scale has been vibrating uncontrollably for some time now.
Citizens - from the middle class on down - feel that Wall Street and inept political self-dealing in Washington has created the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Wall Street bankers were bailed out and have moved on, their now richer lives content, even as Middle American lives have been left in tatters.
OWS demands are all over the map. This is to be expected in the spontaneous, combustible, beginnings of any political movement. Movements are by their very nature disorganized and chaotic -- right up until the message gels and leaders step forward with a coherent agenda.
Political leaders thought they had dodged a bullet when the ground first began to shake over the greed on Wall Street when anger was steered into the creation of a right leaning Tea Party.
But the Tea Party to date, has seemed like the little jiggler on top of my mom's old pressure cooker -- allowing just enough steam to escape to keep the entire pot from exploding.
Now the OWStreeters are adding more heat to the fire.
Much of the anger that has been boiling because the economic collapse has been about mistakes of the past.
Where the OWSers can help change the tide is by re-directing their anger from mistakes of the past to leadership and a plan for the future.
We need to get America working again. There is a need for a new American Covenant that citizens can believe in. A shared vision and common agenda for future greatness.
Time will tell if the anger gels from a small and growing movement to redirecting the course of America.
Remember the powerful words of anthropologist Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Wall Street and Washington politicians created this mess -- and they have a responsibility to clean it up.
Tom Watkins is a former Michigan state superintendent of schools who now serves as an education and business consultant. His columns appear occasionally in AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at: tdwatkins88@gmail.com.
Comments
snapshot
Tue, Oct 18, 2011 : 3:41 a.m.
Government regulators and employees are responsible for the moral collapse of Wall Street. They trade jobs from government to wall street like kids use to trade baseball cards. Government officials use their wall street positions to secure lucrative jobs and vice versa. Until we make it illegal for government officials and employees to go to work for any private enterprise where they can use their knowledge and contacts to influence how business is conducted, nothing will change. Public campaign funding with spending caps, eliminating lobbyists with prior government experience should be points being demanded by the protestors.
Mike K
Sun, Oct 16, 2011 : 2 p.m.
There is so much to discuss on this article. I will start with the loss of our ethical moorings, because I agree with that. Lost is personal responsibity and tending to your business. Gained is looking at others and passing judgment on them. Candidly, the wall street protestors are at the wrong location. They should be protesting at Federal Reserve Banks across the US. The Fed IS Wall Street. Our government gave away monetary policy in 1910. Now we are dependent on Wall Street, probably as envisioned.
chefbrian1
Sun, Oct 16, 2011 : 5:57 a.m.
I attended last Thursday's second Occupy Ann Arbor rally in Liberty Plaza, which had about 200 people. The group was organized and divided up into subgroups to discuss various aspects of future rallies. Some were college kids, but not all. Many were parents with their kids who made thoughtful protest signs. It is too early to know where this is all going. The movement is all over the map, but fair taxation seems to be a core issue with the push for raising taxes on the upper 1% of earners. Even Buffet thinks it is time to tax him and his rich buddies. So can Washington pass a jobs bill which is paid for with a modest tax increase to the top 1% of earners with say a capital gains tax increase and ending the Bush tax cuts???? It does not seem likely in the current (republican) environment, but the Occupy movement I feel can provide some back up for politicians to fight more. We are not sitting this one out. <a href="http://bit.ly/p6LSfG" rel='nofollow'>http://bit.ly/p6LSfG</a>
Macabre Sunset
Sun, Oct 16, 2011 : 12:30 a.m.
Don't you think it would be simpler to make it illegal to accept a bribe? Rather than policing the entire country, just police those who seek to profit from serving. Politicians are funny people. Only in public "service" could you get this kind of arrangement. They're all corrupt - Democrats and Republicans.
snoopdog
Sun, Oct 16, 2011 : 12:08 a.m.
Start with making it illegal to lobby anyone in public office ! Paid lobbyists should be outlawed. Good Day
outdoor6709
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 10:43 p.m.
<a href="http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/41117" rel='nofollow'>http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/41117</a> power plant regulations Other regulations <a href="http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2011/07/Red-Tape-Rising-A-2011-Mid-Year-Report" rel='nofollow'>http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2011/07/Red-Tape-Rising-A-2011-Mid-Year-Report</a> From the beginning of the Obama Administration to the end of March 2011, a staggering 75 new major regulations, with costs exceeding $38 billion, have been adopted. While the President has acknowledged the need to rein in regulation, the steps taken to date have fallen far short. The President cannot have it both ways—having identified overregulation as a problem, he must take real and significant steps to rein it in. At the same time, Congress—which shares much of the blame for excessive regulation—must step in, establishing critical mechanisms and institutions to ensure that unnecessary and excessively costly regulations are not imposed on the U.S. economy and the American people. Without such decisive steps, the costs of red tape will continue to grow, and Americans—and the U.S. economy—will be the victims.
RayA2
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 11:54 p.m.
What is wrong with regulation? Corporations and the very wealthy pile self serving, and transparently deceitful blame for poor business performance on regulations that prevent destructive and fradulent criminal activity . Eliminating regulation only benefits a very small group of the very wealthiest.
Marvin Face
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 8:23 p.m.
I receive the OWS Newsletter once a month, delivered to my doorstep by a lovely older lady. I've never read of these issues there.
Homeland Conspiracy
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 4:25 p.m.
"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country... Corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed." Abraham Lincoln, 1864
Macabre Sunset
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 4:22 p.m.
Since when is the "middle class" a bunch of entitlement-seeking whiny children who hate those who have more than they do?
rusty shackelford
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 6:47 p.m.
What makes you think that's an accurate characterization of the movement other than the fact that, if it were true, it would be easier for you to dismiss it? Entitled brat right here, eh? <a href="http://dailydish.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451c45669e20153924bd712970b-popup" rel='nofollow'>http://dailydish.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451c45669e20153924bd712970b-popup</a>
outdoor6709
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 4:10 p.m.
Sorry Bush is not President anymore. However the government added $10 billion in cost for new regulations in April. The EPA is adding 20% to the cost of electricity and causing power plants to close. The Offordable Care Act will cost jobs and not decrease the cost of healthcare. It will reduce Medicare spending by $500 billion. Maybe we should protest Government interference in our lives.
DonBee
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 7:41 p.m.
Rob - The Federal Government saved billions by shifting costs to the states. The Health Care Reform act added $700 million to the cost of Medicare this year in Michigan. See the state budget for that one. If you multiply that over the 10 year time period for savings - that is a $7 billion increase, times 50 states. Maybe there is savings and maybe not. President Obama just ditched one piece of his reform act - home care - because his administration could not figure out how to implement it. It was supposed to be a big piece of the savings. This news is on the front page of msnbc.com As to power prices - they will rise quickly. AEP and other coal burning utilities have notified their home states that they are shutting down about 7 times the number of plants that the EPA said they would. This means the midwest will be short of power plants starting next year. I hope you like brown outs and black outs, because the EPA is bringing them to you, unless the rules get modified quickly. Once the plants are closed, they will take months to bring back on line. The billions in regulation cost are documented in the Federal Register, the EPA, the FDA and others have all indicated what the cost (they think of their new regulations are) both CNN and MSNBC have quoted numbers much higher than $10 billion from the government's own documents. According to one government watcher - the number of pages of new regulations in the first year of the Obama administration exceeded the total number for the bush years. I did a little checking - that is high based on page count of the Federal Register, but far more than regulations go in the Federal Register.
Sparty
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 5:03 p.m.
What are the sources for your claims? Beyond Bush not being President thankfully and Medicare savings of $500 billion being implemented through healthcare reform, with no cuts to beneficiaries, the other claims are baseless.
towny
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 3:33 p.m.
Misguided individuals. They act as if they are mad they can not play with the ball in the game. Everyone can invest on wall street. Isn't it a way to build and grow your retirement money. Since most company's have stopped contributing into retirement accounts. Where some see as greed others see as potential. Wake up america ! The Iphones are a perfect example of waste and greed in america. Americans have to have the best and are willing to go into debt and use credit to the hilt to get it. This is the real problem in this country.
outdoor6709
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 2:40 p.m.
I cannot wait until Occupy Ann Arbor happens.
rusty shackelford
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 6:45 p.m.
that was a couple days ago. It was mostly to get people to go to the Occupy Detroit event
outdoor6709
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 2:39 p.m.
The difference between the tea party and the ows is tea party wants the government to quit spending money it does not have and OWS wants more freebies. If you listen to the man on the street interviews, you hear we want free health care, free college tution, or forgive my student loans. The anti-Wall Street theme is a populus theme for the media. The OWS group is essentially a group of anti social anarchists.
Mike K
Mon, Oct 17, 2011 : 5:31 p.m.
Amen Don Bee. I am without doubt a conservative minded individual, but would certainly agree to stimulus if we really build things. Obama's bill to put teachers and construction workers back simply caters to his constituency (unions). Build something that has reach into the private sector where tax revenue gets generated.
DonBee
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 11:19 p.m.
RayA2 - The $447 billion jobs bill is $80 billion in Infrastructure and $367 billion in handouts. I could support the bill if it was $600 billion and all infrastructure. Then we would have something for the money spent. Instead it will all disappear at Wal-Mart and from Wal-Mart to China.
RayA2
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 9:16 p.m.
Donbee, The extension of the W tax handouts to the very rich was signed by President Obama against republicon efforts to make them permanent. Unfortunately President Obama has decided to comprimise with republicons rather than represent the American people. When you mention handouts you must be talking about the handouts the republicon party pushes for the very wealthiest in this country. Those are the only unjustifiable giveaways I can think of.
DonBee
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 7:33 p.m.
RayA2 - The current administration promised to get the troops out of the war zones and cut the defense spending. We are in Year 3 of that administration and we are not out of either war zone. The current administration signed the bill extending the tax cuts. So 3 years on you are still blaming the prior administration. I guess you could blame FDR for most of this mess, if you want to look at it that way. Social Security after all (the largest part of the budget) was all his fault. But then I don't look at things that way. So I won't blame FDR or W. I will look at the current administration and their handouts - and put the blame there.
rusty shackelford
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 6:45 p.m.
anarchists are socialists and as such can hardly be considered anti-social. And if we weren't bailing out Wall Street and spending a lot of money to kill Muslims, we could probably afford to do a lot of things like free healthcare and more college aid.
RayA2
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 3:03 p.m.
W and his band of corrupt republicons are the main reason we don't have tax money for college tuition, medicare, social security, roads, clean energy, and a host of other working class needs. W's 2 trillion + tax cut, aimed at the wealthiest Americans, through blatant deceit, stole from what was a social security surplus, and sent this country into a financial black hole. So far the people pulling W's strings and the republicon party have, through continued deceit and corruption, managed to stay in control, but this movement aims to leverage the power of democracy to take back what was stolen from us. If you believe that the wealthy 0.01% that since W's time have controlled this country have your interests in mind, think again.
RayA2
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 2:29 p.m.
Could A2.com and the rest of the media try any harder to trivialize this movement? Its very clear to me that our media our controlled by the very people this movement challenges for control of America.
walker101
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 1:22 p.m.
4 million people are expected to buy iPhones this weekend @ around $350 each, I guess they are so angry they can't wait to give up their money so Apple can get even bigger. What a bunch of losers. Get over this, mass demonstrations without any direction will be over when the temperature drops.
walker101
Sun, Oct 16, 2011 : 9:55 p.m.
Rusty, according to the latest survey, the majority of Smart phones are purchased by CC from 25 to 35 year olds, they make up 8% of all purchases. The babyboomers only make up about 3% and yet they have the highest income. I guess wisdom comes with age?
rusty shackelford
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 6:43 p.m.
Hmm. 4 million divided by about 300 million in the country = about 1.3%. Maybe that 99% slogan is more apt than you'd like to admit. Not sure what makes you think that "they" who protest is the same "they" who are going to buy iphones except for some sort of bizarre cultural prejudice?
Gorc
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 3:43 p.m.
Eric - you credit card debt (or not getting yourself in that situation) is within your own control.
Eric Huston
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 2:25 p.m.
Wouldn't you be eager to give up your money to Apple, if you had been experiencing a steady stream of marketing messages--in addition to peer pressure from friends who already have Apple products--aimed at convincing you to be unsatisfied with your current phone and want something better? These mass demonstrations may well fade away as we approach winter, but the anger and dissatisfaction with current American economic policy will not go away until everyone has a job that pays enough money so that people can actually afford to buy unneeded things like an iphone without having to go deeper into credit card debt.
Gorc
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 12:51 p.m.
If any of the protesters ever became successful in something, they would only have themselves to blame.
Gorc
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 6:28 p.m.
Hey Ray, I understand....the "man" must be holding you down.
Gorc
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 2:34 p.m.
Eric - Your success and failures are within your control.
Eric Huston
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 2:18 p.m.
The implicit message in your comment seems to be that if a protester (or anyone) is unsuccessful, then it is their own fault. How do you arrive at this conclusion?
DonBee
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 12:47 p.m.
Our society is divided. There is no question of that. Washington does not seem to work for any sector of the public. On one end of the economic spectrum you have the Tea Party who says the government spends too much and spends it wrong. On the other end of the spectrum you have Rep. Jackson who whats to give away another $804 Billion dollars. On another axis you have the Occupy folks who are unhappy with how taxes work and the way income is distributed. On another level you have the small business people who have too much government regulation to operate without violating some rule. Frankly our republic sort of works, right now the country is so divided, that it is reflected in Washington. Neither the Tea Party nor the Occupy movements speak for the vast majority of people. They both reflect some of the majority's thinking, but some of the things each group demands are beyond what most people are comfortable with. We really do need a middle of the road "fix this country" party that will focus on putting people to work, and cutting red tape. Neither the Democrats or the Republicans work for the middle class anymore.
braggslaw
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 12:04 p.m.
I think it is great that people are exercising their right to free speech. The democratic process works. I disagree with them, but hey it is good for society to hear different views. When it gets a bit colder outside they will be just a memory.
Eric Huston
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 2:29 p.m.
The actual protests themselves may well be just a memory, but the anger and resentment towards the "haves" (IE, Wall street con artists) will not go away until the "have nots" (IE, 95% of the American people) have a bit bigger slice of the economic pie.
KJMClark
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 12:02 p.m.
The Tea Party was created by Wall Street. CNBC reporter Rick Santelli riled-up the wealthy traders at the Chicago Board of Trade. (But the original Tea Party turns out to have been a sham too. Wealthy American tea smugglers revolted against the British trying to shut down their lucrative deals.) It was a deft move on Wall Street's part - channel the anger over the breaking of the social contract at someone who didn't do it, so the wealthy can keep their spoils for a while longer. It was an impressive feat of marketing to turn that into an astroturf populist movement. So they rigged the game, and when it predictably blew up in everyone else's face, they pointed the finger at someone else. If this Occupy Wall Street thing succeeds, maybe we can get around to actually solving some of these problems now, instead of just making things worse. The problem is, the wealthy have so rigged the income/wealth/debt game that it's hard to know where to start to put things back.
The Picker
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 1:49 p.m.
Please define what success is with this Wall St. thing.
Chip Reed
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 10:53 a.m.
There are many factors for this. Our cultural myths, that there will be permanent progress, that the history of the rest of the world has little bearing on us, that we are "exceptional", that we live in a classless society, that our enemies "hate our freedoms", etc., all contribute to the general unhappiness when life isn't as wonderful as it was from 1945-1973. Very few politicians enjoy telling the electorate that they were going with the wind at their back for many years, but now that's over.
Eric Huston
Sat, Oct 15, 2011 : 2:32 p.m.
Could not agree more! In reference to your last sentence: Politicians have become so good at keeping their own jobs at the expense of the time and effort it would take to actually come up with an economic policy which would create opportunities for non-rich, non-politicians.